


i'll be home for christmas

by Magali_Dragon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, F/M, Ghost is a Good Boy (ASoIaF), I say angst but what I mean is angsty fluff?, Stream of Consciousness, because you'll end up writing this fic, don't watch movies of soldiers coming home to their dogs, ghost POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28197654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magali_Dragon/pseuds/Magali_Dragon
Summary: Ghost misses his human Jon very much and when he and Dany hear some distressing news just in time for Christmas, he wonders if he will be home at all.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen
Comments: 83
Kudos: 442





	i'll be home for christmas

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from. I mean, I do technically, it's from watching clips of soldiers coming home to their dogs and I just don't know but then I was typing this out and crying and missing my dog (he's in another state right now) and then I started thinking of Jonerys and Ghost and you know....sigh. 
> 
> This was meant to be shorter and fluffier, but meh. Here it is. 
> 
> Ghost is the bestest boy. This is the way.
> 
> Also, we do not deserve dogs. They're truly the purest forms of love in the world. Add them in with Christmastime and I turn into whatever person wrote this fic.
> 
> Enjoy!

__

_I'll be home for Christmas_  
_You can plan on me_  
_Please have snow and mistletoe_  
_And presents by the tree_

_Christmas eve will find me_  
_Where the love light gleams_  
_I'll be home for Christmas_  
_If only in my dreams_

* * *

Ghost was very sad.

He missed his human so much.

He could not even remember his face, but he remembered his smell. He loved his human's smell, it always made him happy, his tail wagging, and tongue lolling. It was the smell of home. He remembered it, when he was just a tiny pup, the smallest of his litter, and no one wanted him, cast aside and left for the gods, but then he heard a rustle and he smelled _home_. It overwhelmed him, smothering him with the comfort of knowing he would be safe, loved, and protected. It allowed him to relax, to close his eyes and listen to the thudding heart beneath his ear, wrapping him up in the love he sensed from his human.

It always comforted him, when things became stressful, he knew he could just hop up with his human, cuddle close to him, and listen to his beating heart, and know that all would be right in the world. They could be in the car on the side of the road like they did that one time during a bad snowstorm, or when his human was in the hospital (that place smelled very bad) where the humans took their sick people, or when he got scared sometimes when the sky got dark and made very loud booming noises with bright flashing lights.

Sometimes he wanted to cuddle but Human Jon—his human's name was Jon as that was what everyone called him although sometimes people called him 'Bastard', 'Snow', or 'Hey Idiot', this last one coming from Human Arya who was his third favorite human in the world. The first was Jon, obviously, and the second was Human Dany. Human Dany was a female and she smelled _really, really, really good._ It was Human Dany who prevented him sometimes from cuddling with them, because when he jumped into the bed to lay down, they got angry and kicked him out of the room.

That was when the smell in the house shifted and Human Dany _really_ smelled like Human Jon and vice versa. He assumed they were doing what Ghost had always wanted to do with other female wolves until Human Jon took him to the _HORRIBLE_ smelly place where they made him go to sleep and when he woke up, he was without a certain part of his body that he _swore_ was there when he went to sleep. For some reason after that he was no longer interested in the female wolves.

Human Jon was always interested in Human Dany. She was too. They kissed all the time; they always were in the same bed together and sometimes they never let him in the room _at all_. It was very upsetting, so he would whine and scratch and finally they'd let him in. He loved their bed. It was better and bigger and softer than his bed. Plus, there was that smell, that feeling of _home_ and _love_.

Human Dany smelled like the outside, but the good outside, like pretty flowers and trees and even if she had an evil _cat_ he still loved her so much. He was so happy when he first met her, when the door opened, and Human Jon brought her in. It was a surprise it seemed, because she screamed very loud and hurt his ears and he wondered why Jon was telling him "Down, down!" but he was just _sooooo_ excited because Human Jon never brought anyone home but mean Ygritte and now, she was gone, thank the Gods.

Unlike Human Ygritte, who didn't like him and always told Jon to "send him away" or put him outside, Human Dany laughed and got down on the floor with him even though she was wearing something the females wore called _dresses_ and she hugged him and kissed him and said he was _so fluffy!_

For a very long time now he had been with Human Dany in the house she lived in with Jon. They got married. They stood under the stars and dark sky and before the smiling red and white tree and they said words and kissed, and they were married, and he was there, and he loved them so much. She was there all the time and all he could smell was her and Jon, and he loved it, because it was home and he loved them so much.

But something happened.

Jon told him he had to leave for a while, he didn't know how long, but he loved him and he cried and Human Jon _never_ cried. He licked away his tears, confused, cocking his head and waiting for Jon to say where they were going, because he always went everywhere with him. Except Jon rubbed his neck and whispered to him. "Promise me boy, you have to protect her, she's your human too. Your responsibility. I'm leaving her in good hands. Or paws." he tried to laugh but didn't do a very good job of it. He kissed his nose and face and hugged him tight, mumbling how he would miss him, that they were the same, the white wolf. Both of them the outsiders.

Ghost did not know what this meant, but he took it seriously. Human Jon wanted him to protect Human Dany and he would, because she was Jon's mate and they loved each other so much and she was so nice, and he would do it. After he licked away Jon's tears, he didn't understand, when Jon left. It was really bad because he was alone in the house. He was never alone in the house. When Human Dany returned, she had pretty nice Missandei with her and Arya and they cried together and hugged her and didn't leave her alone for a couple days.

But he slept in bed with her, like he always did, and he let her cry into his fur, and she said how he was the best boy there ever was and a good boy and "You have to keep me company while he's gone, alright boy? You're the man of the house. Just...don't tell Drogon."

It was a secret between them, one he was glad to have, because he was the man of the house, because Drogon was a stinky cat who only cared about himself. Ghost cared about _everyone_.

But he missed his human so much.

He took his duties seriously. He had a mission, set forth by his beloved human, and he could not let him down. He would keep her company, he would sleep beside her every single night, and sit next to her on the couch, and they would go on runs every morning and evening, and sometimes she would shove some weird thing in front of his face that was like a small television screen and he didn't really see what was on the thing, but he could hear his Human Jon, telling him he loved him and missed him and would see him soon.

He barked—or tried to but he was mute they said and so he only made a high-pitched whine. It made his human laugh, but sometimes made Dany cry. Whenever she spoke with Jon on the funny screen, she would be so happy and then she would get so sad. It hurt his heart very much. He always made sure to crawl into her lap and comfort her.

When he did this, crawling into their laps or on top of them when they slept or even tried to jump into their arms when they came in the door, he was just trying to show them how much he loved them and wanted to be close to them. It made him remember when he was just a tiny little pup, cuddled up in Human Jon's big strong arms, keeping him warm and safe, saving him even, from whatever might have happened if Jon hadn't found him.

It turned out he was very large for a dog. They joked he was part wolf. He puffed his chest at this, pleased they thought he was a wild creature of the forest. He didn't see the problem, but sometimes the humans didn't like it when he tried to jump at people or climb into their laps. He was heavy, they would laugh, or he'd shed all over them, or think he was a "lap dog" whatever that was, when he was definitely not.

They let him, that's what counted. Even when she laughed and tried to knock him off, Dany would let him cuddle in her lap, and he would keep her warm. Or he'd jump straight into Jon's arms when he came home from a long day at work.

He counted down the days until he could do that again.

He missed his human so much.

It was taking forever.

"Ghost," Dany called one night, whistling for him while he was outside, doing his nightly patrol. "Come on silly boy! Time to go night-night."

He sniffed in the snow, something off in the air. It was any other night. Freezing cold, but he didn't feel it much, his fur thick and keeping him warm. The snow seeped into the fur between his toes, the pads of his paws thick and callused from lots of runs on the pavement. He dug his feet into the snow, digging to the dirt, and shoved his nose deep, inhaling the earth.

Something was off.

It was a twist in the air, a shift of the wind, and he could not put his paw on just what it was.

Everything was messed up without human Jon around. He couldn't smell him anymore, had to go into the closet and sleep on his shirts if he wanted to get that familiar scent back into his nose. Sometimes Dany took to taking Jon's shirt too and wearing it around a lot, maybe for the same reason. He didn't remember what he sounded like, even if he could hear it on the strange screen device. it wasn't the same.

He whined, wishing he could pinpoint exactly what troubled him. It made the fur on the back of his neck stand upright.

"Ghost! Come on boy! It's freezing!"

_Maybe for you._ He sniffed around a few minutes, lifting his head when the distinct smell of raw meat floated by on the wind. He wrinkled his nose, eyes fixed on the back door. Dany was waving something.

"You want a creamie Ghost? Mommy has one for you!"

_Creamie!?_

He took off, kicking up snow and loped up the steps into the house, giddy at the prospect of a creamie. He wiped his feet and let Dany rub him off with a bath towel, swallowing up the bit of ground beef she had in her hand and whining, pacing near her while she opened the freezer and took out one of the creamie cups. She laughed, setting it on the floor and knelt with him, rubbing his head as he scarfed down the peanut-butter ice cream treat, thrilled that this was what he could get for just coming in the house.

She kissed his head, between his ears and he twitched them, rolling an eye up as he licked up his treat. "You're such a good boy, the bestest boy. It's going to be a shitty Christmas this year without Jon, but I've got you."

_What was Christmas?_ It must be the thing that she put all the decorations up for and stupid Drogon kept trying to rip down. Maybe he didn't like Christmas. He even tried to knock down the big tree that Dany put up and placed pretty sparkling items and lights on. Then Drogon _dared_ to make it look like _he_ did it! Dumb Drogon.

He finished off his ice cream, wagged his tail, and waited her for to finish up with what needed doing downstairs. While he waited, he chewed a little on his favorite red bone, which was hard and plastic and they could hide treats for him in it, but sometimes he just liked chewing it. He gnawed on the end, still not sure why he was upset. He did not like the feeling he felt, deep in his chest. His heart was hurting. It kept beating and he could hear it in his ears, just like he could hear Dany's heartbeat and Drogon's heartbeat and the extra heartbeat that Dany had for some reason in her belly.

He didn't think she knew this information. He tried to tell her ,nosing her tummy here and there, but she didn't pay him attention. He only started hearing it like a month ago. She had gone away for a short time, he stayed with Arya then, and when she came back, she was extra sad. She said she saw Jon, for a really short time, and somehow it made it worse because she had to say goodbye to him all over again.

And she didn't smell a lot like him. It was different, when she came back that one time. Smelled a little like Jon, but he was different...like there was more smoke and darkness with it. Ghost didn't like that, it made him sad, made him think Jon was sad too.

He went upstairs with her and crawled into the bed after her when she finally slipped between the blankets. He dropped his head on her tummy, listening to the heartbeat there, and turned his face up to look at her. Dany was so sad, an arm over her head and the other resting atop his neck, fingers buried in his fur. He thumped his tail briefly, letting her know he was there, he would protect her, and this second heartbeat.

Hopefully it didn't mean she was sick if she had two hearts. That couldn't be could. Or could it? He wasn't sure.

He whined, closing his eyes, shuddering. It happened again; a pang through his body, seizing him. He got up and turned in circles a few times, untethered. "Ghost? Are you alright boy? Did the creamie upset your tummy?"

_No, that made it feel better_ , he thought, looking to the window, the curtains open to look out at the back of the house. The nighttime made the snow glow and everything bright, when it should be dark, but he felt darkness now. He closed his eyes and focused; it was creeping, closer, and closer.... _NO!_

He let out a high-pitched yelp, the snap of something in his mind, completely cutting him off from the warm ball of light he always sensed, even when it was not near him. He leaped off the bed and scrambled to the window, scratching frantically, unsure where he was supposed to go, but knowing he couldn't be here.

"Ghost! Oh gods!"

Dany leaped out of bed with him, trying to get to him, but he could not be still. He had to _find him_.

It was Jon.

That constant warmth, love, and safety he always knew he had, it was gone from him, like someone just ripped it apart. He could no longer feel it. It had been fading with his human's absence, but he always knew it was there, and now it wasn't. It was _gone_ and someone _took_ it from him.

As well as he could, he howled, Dany opening a door so he could run onto the small balcony outside the bedroom and he threw his head back, straining as hard as he could, wishing desperately to make the sound, so that Jon could hear him, know he was there, he had to find him, had to get to him, where was his human, his human needed him, he had to find him.

Echoing in his mind he heard Dany crying his name, scared and confused and while he was sorry for it, he had to get to Jon.

_You have to protect her._

Jon's words reverberated inside his head; he stilled at the top of the stairs, initially prepared to race down them, to go find him, but he remembered. He had to protect Dany.

And he had to protect that second heartbeat too.

He pressed against her, when she knelt around him, crying and scared. "What's wrong baby? Are you sick? Tell me," she whispered, rubbing his ears and face, and scratching her hands over him. "Tell me."

Instead he pressed as hard as he could to her, his neck rubbing up hers, and closed his eyes, wishing he could tell her. He wanted her to call him on the screen thing and find out where he was. He had to let her know it was Jon.

Jon was in trouble.

He pushed by her and ran to the room, knocking the screen off the nightstand and scratching at it. She shouted for him to stop, but she wasn't _listening_. He beat his body against the door to the closet and when she opened it, he tore down Jon's clothes, rolling in them, dragging them to her. "Ghost what on earth..."

_He needs help! He needs us!_

"Is it Jon?" she asked suddenly, picking up the screen thing and one of the shirts. Her beautiful purple eyes were wide, scared. "Oh Ghost!"

_He's gone from us. Something happened._

He did not understand what followed. Dany hugged him all night, holding her phone in her hand, and not sleeping. Even Drogon came in and settled on the bed with them, waiting and watching. He closed his eyes tight and tried to find the connection, but he couldn't. He missed him so much. He wanted his human.

His safety and love and protection.

He loved his human so much.

He wanted him there with them, in the same bed, wrapped around them both, hugging him and telling him he was the bestest boy. He wanted to smell that smell again. Of the outdoors and the weird white stick thing that sometimes his human put in his mouth that everyone yelled at him for and the hot drink he drank that Ghost tried once and thought was bitter and disgusting.

It scared him, missing him this much, wanting him home.

_Christmas_

That’s what Dany said this time of year was. The time for family, she said, and he wanted his family. Only now it was like Jon was gone forever.

Dany began making phone calls, while he fretted, his head on his paws, forlorn, accepting that he might not see his human ever again. He heard her cry, when the phone rang after a while and he went to her, to sit with her in front of the beautiful Christmas tree, with its pretty sparking lights and the toys on it that he was not allowed to touch, or he got his nose swatted. He rested his head on her lap, let her cry into his fur, over how she was scared, she missed him, and now he might never come home.

Ghost missed his human so much.

He learned in the following days that Jon was _missing_ and presumed dead. He tried to give his human Dany all the love she needed; she was his full-time priority and sometimes he did not even want to eat. He would stare out the window, at the falling snow, usually an event that made him excited, eager to spend the day rolling around in the cold slush, catching flurries on his tongue, and chasing after his favorite rope that Jon or Dany would throw for him.

Now he could not think of those things. They did not make him happy, because he did not have Jon with him.

“They’ll find him,” Dany told him, at night, as he curled against her in bed, taking the spot that should have been for Jon. She kissed his head, between his eyes, and would smile into his neck. “I know they’ll find him; you’ll see.”

He wasn’t so sure, because he felt that snap, and the pain, and he hoped that Jon would be alright. He wished he knew where he was and could find him. He missed him so much.

The second heartbeat inside Dany’s tummy grew stronger. He didn’t think she knew yet. She would let him sit in her lap though, cuddling against her, and laugh when he wouldn’t let her go. “You weigh almost 200 pounds Ghost; you aren’t a lap dog you know.”

But I have to be near you, he wanted to say, if only she could understand.

Maybe she did, because she kept letting him climb up to hug her and sit with her, even when she made an ‘oof’ each time he did. He was very gentle, making user not to step on the heartbeat that was inside of her tummy. He kept wondering if she knew about it. You think she would; if he knew, why didn’t she?

Did Jon know about it? He worried for him, he missed him, and he had no idea when he would ever come home.

He missed him so much.

He dreamed of him, in the following days, closing his eyes and remembering his human’s laugh and smile and how they would go running in the morning and how one time he was _soooo_ hungry that he jumped up on the counter for something that smelled _really_ good when he was just a growing pup, and he ran off with this most delicious turkey. It was apparently for all the family on some really important day, because he got yelled at, but Jon was laughing so hard as he yelled that Ghost didn’t think he was all that sorry.

Sometimes he dreamed he would be home with them. They would be sitting on the couch in front of the pretty sparkling tree or they would be in front of the fireplace. Maybe he had his peanut butter creamie or a new bone, and Jon would be sitting behind him, scratching his ears and telling him what a good boy he was. “The best boy,” he always followed up with saying.

It was almost Christmas Day, according to Dany, one morning when he woke to her jumping out of bed to go to the bathroom to get sick. If he was not mistaken, she might finally know about that second heartbeat, because she kept saying she “took a test” and got very, very upset the previous evening with Missandei, crying about how she “needed Jon.”

She climbed into the bed, nose to nose with him. Her breath smelled very minty now. He licked her nose and she chuckled, her pretty wide eyes shining. She was going to cry again. “They said he’s probably dead,” she whispered. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “His helicopter crashed and…and I don’t know Ghost. It’s almost Christmas…he isn’t here for Christmas. He wasn’t going to be here for Christmas, but now that I know he might…might never be here again? I don’t know why it feels so much worse when you think about it at Christmas only…and then I remember he’s gone. He might never come back.”

Her hand fell to her tummy. She cried harder, her little body shaking. “And we’re having a baby and he’s gone…he’s never going to know he was a father.” She sobbed. “I just want my Jon back.”

Ghost climbed over her, as best he could, his long leg over her shoulder and he closed his eyes, comforting her, wishing for his Jon too.

He missed him so much.

They did what they could to get by. He went on walks with Dany and sometimes Arya and sometimes Missandei. He played in the snow. He stared out the front window and wondered if he would one day see Jon walking up again. He felt his heart leap and jump from time to time, he suspected it was because of the second heartbeat inside of Dany, which was stronger and faster now, and sometimes she let him put his head on her bare tummy and laugh when he licked it, trying to get to the “baby” as she called it. He learned one night as she spoke to him, like she often did before she fell asleep, that she pulled strings with her work and managed to get to the Wall for a couple days, where she got to see Jon. “And maybe it was just fate that we made a baby then, when we never could before,” she mused. She rubbed her tummy, and he nuzzled his nose into her warm skin. “A little Christmas miracle.”

_A Christmas miracle_ , he sighed, rolling his eyes up to meet hers. He wagged his tail, his heart beating in tandem with the miracle’s heartbeat and with Dany’s.

And he hoped somewhere else Jon’s too.

It was Christmas Eve, when he woke up a couple days later, and he knew this because Dany was already awake, and he lifted his head up curiously when she came out of the bathroom after getting sick. He learned that she liked to be alone when she was sick in the bathroom; he had to protect her but trying to wiggle under her when she was on her hands in knees in front of the thing that the humans used to go to relieve themselves instead of just going out in the grass like him, didn’t seem to work. She didn’t like it.

“It’s Christmas Eve Ghost! What do you say we go on a really long Christmas Eve walk?”

He eyed Drogon, wondering if _he_ would be coming. Drogon was licking his paw and shot a golden-eye glance his way that was cat-speak for “Not on your fucking life.” He remembered Jon saying that Drogon would have a foul mouth if he could speak. Ghost thought he would too.

He hopped off the bed, trotting with her to the back door when she finished getting dressed. He was grateful it was nice and cold that morning, the sun shining, and after waiting a moment for Dany to stretch, they took off at a slow jog. His feet pounded the hard-packed snow down their driveway and to the street, and through the trees near the Wolfswood park beside their house.

Somewhere out there was Jon, he hoped. He wished. He dreamed. He did not feel that horrible pain again, and he hoped that meant he was still with them and he would come home and be with them.

Ghost was scared that he would never come home.

And he was scared that he did not know how long it had even been without him.

The days had blurred together. He was never very good with time. Sometimes it was like people left him alone forever and then they said they had only been gone a few minutes. Other times he thought they were gone a few minutes, but they had been gone forever! It was mixed up; this way humans saw time.

He trotted at Dany’s side and she was right—it was a very long walk. All through the Wolfswood, the trees covered in snow and icicles hanging on the branches. He looked up at her, wagging his tail when she grinned down at him. She patted her tummy. “Next year we’ll have another with us on our walks.” She gazed to the other side of him, her face falling, whispering. “And hopefully Jon too.”

Something funny happened when they got home.

There was another car parked in the driveway.

Ghost did not understand; he looked to Dany to see if she recognized the people, they were in all uniform, the way that Jon used to wear sometimes, but fancy with shiny things on their chests. He growled low in his throat, warning them not to mess with him. They backed off, but one took off his hat and politely said: “Mrs. Snow? Do you mind if we speak inside?”

And Dany cried so loud and long, he was so scared.

Arya and Missandei and Gendry and Bran all came over.

He heard them on the phone, all day long, coming and going. It was a big party, he thought, hiding up on the spot in front of the window where he could stay out of their way but also see outside and watch people in the front of the house. Drogon did the same, near him, up on the mantle above the big fireplace, which blazed hot and orange on him, keeping him quite toasty every time the door busted open and closed, bringing in gusts of snow and cold wind.

He had to protect Dany, to keep her safe, and he did, always watching to make sure she was alright, but he thought she was. She was crying, from what the strange men said, but it was like she was happy. “He’s alive,” she told him, whispering to him. “He’s alive Ghost. He’s going to come home. We can be a family again.”

_Jon was alive?_

He was so happy, licking her face and knowing what she meant, even when some of the people around like dumb Sansa said he didn’t understand, he was just a dog. He was _not_ just a dog. He was Ghost.

And he missed his human so much.

The day wore on and he napped a bit and ate his dinner. He went into the living room after Dany let him out to do his business and wondered where Arya had gone. She got a phone call and then just ran out with Gendry. Missandei was upstairs and he didn’t know where Bran was either. All the nice people, he thought, eyeing the fireplace and contemplated curling up in front of it, if Dany didn’t want him up on the couch with her.

He tried the couch, but she was in the kitchen cleaning up. He sighed and settled on the hardwood before the hearth, closing his eyes and taking a moment, inhaling and exhaling. He wanted to chew on something. He was bored.

“Ghost! How many times do I have to tell you?” Dany came into the living room, laughing and holding up one of his rope toys. She wagged it at him. “Stop leaving this where I can trip over it. IT’s also all wet too.” She tossed the rope into the basket of his toys and went back into the kitchen.

They said that they could talk to Jon soon, but he was “in transit” whatever that meant, and Ghost knew she was nervous, she wanted so much to talk to him, just like he did. He sighed and heaved up to his feet, intent on going to find another rope toy. If he remembered right, there was another one near the stairs and if she tripped on it, she might not let him sleep right next to her and put him to the end of the bed, which he hated, so he’d go move it for her.

He walked slowly out of the living room, hearing the door open near him as he crossed the foyer, rather lazily and not paying much attention, as it was probably Arya or one of them again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark gray and black mottled shape, catching a whiff of a familiar scent on his nose.

_Home._

“Ghost.”

_Ghost._

That was his name.

Someone said his name.

_Someone with a familiar voice…_

He was midway across the room when he realized who was in the doorway and immediately cut to the left, frantic, panting, and his back legs not yet realizing that he had turned, sliding on the hardwood as his ran, claws scrabbling and scratching for purchase, but he skidded, releasing the loudest bark he could make, high-pitched, squealing, and desperate.

_JON!_

IT WAS HIS JON! HE WAS HOME! HE WAS HOME! HIS JON WAS HERE AND HE WAS ALIVE AND HE WAS THERE AND BREATHING AND TALKING AND LAUGHING.

And he loved him so much.

He leaped as high as he could and straight into his human’s arms, Jon laughing and wrapping his arms tight around him, not even minding as claws tore at his uniform, and he almost bowed backwards from the weight on him, Ghost trying to get as close to him as he could. He shoved his face against Jon’s, licking him frantically, tongue rasping over his face, his beard, and into his hair, all the while whimpering and beating his tail so fast it was nothing but a white blur.

It was happening it was here it was happening it was here it was real, and Jon was there, and he was alive and happy, and he smelled like home and he was all warm and he smelled like home and he was hugging him and laughing, and he smelled like home and he was _HERE_.

_I love you so much I love you so much I love you so much I love you so much I love you so much._

It was a constant stream of words in his head, unable to speak it, but doing as best he could to show it, clawing at Jon, licking his face, whimpering and crying, and making all the sounds he tried so hard to make but louder and unable to stop moving.

“Ghost it’s alright, I’m here! I’m home!”

Jon was laughing and crying too, now on the floor with him, and unable to stop grinning, and ghost was just so happy he was here he did not even care that he was stealing him from Dany, who was sobbing and trying to get to him too, because this was his human and he was home and he loved him so much.

He licked his tears away, he licked Dany’s tears, he sniffed the floor, and he sniffed his clothes, and he shoved his nose into between his legs just to make sure it was still him and even though he got a swat on the nose and a loud ‘Ghost no!’ he didn’t even care because it was really happening, and this was not an imposter person and it was truly his Jon and he _loved him so much._

Other people tried to take his Jon from him, but he would not let them, he even allowed Dany a few minutes to kiss him and do that gross thing where they were all in each other’s arms and their mouths were touching and did not break away for a very long time, but he shoved his head between them so he could be a part of it too and then Dany said something to Jon, and he was crying even harder and falling down onto the floor again and pushing his face into her tummy.

Maybe he wanted to hear the second heartbeat too, Ghost thought.

Time not even have meaning to him, not really, but the day went by quickly and he did not let his Jon out of his sight. He went with him everywhere, he cried, and he wagged his tail, and he kept reminding himself that it was really him, and even when his Jon changed clothes and he winced and he smelled the smell of blood, he nosed gently at the bandages on Jon’s side and he hoped he had not hurt him, and licked them just to make sure, nosing around at Jon’s chest to ensure his heart was still beating and it was because he could hear it. _Thud-thum, thud-thum, thud-thum_ , in the same beating tone as his heart too.

He loved him so much.

That night everyone left them alone, even though he knew they didn’t want to—even Arya was crying which _never_ happened—but everyone did and left them alone. He got into Jon’s lap and he was careful of his hurting area and he licked his face again, and did not mind when Jon even said: “Ghost, I love you very much, but can Dany sit with me too?”

He supposed so, so he moved a little out of the way so she could crawl into his lap too and they could kiss and whisper how much they loved each other, and Jon could put his hand on the second heartbeat even though he wasn’t sure the humans could hear it the same way he did. He nosed at Jon’s hand so he could get head scratches and he placed his head upon his heart and looked up at him, his eyes wide and staring into his human’s lovingly, because he loved him so much and he had been gone for so long and now he was here.

And it was a very good thing, because it was Christmas and Dany said that was the time for family and Jon was his family and so was Dany and even dumb Drogon who actually came over to sit next to Jon’s head on the back of the couch, which was kind of a miracle.

He did not know much, because he was just a dog, but he knew he loved his human and he loved his human’s love and he loved his human’s pup—that’s what Jon said that the second heartbeat was inside of Dany, a future pup for him to play with—so he wanted to make sure that they knew it.

“I’m sorry I scared you Ghost,” he whispered, kissing the top of his head.

He closed his eyes, blinking slowly, to tell him that he was fine now, it was okay. Just don’t do it again, you know? Ghost did not think he could take it again.

“I love you, thank you for watching over Dany and the baby.” His voice choked up, whispering into his ear. He eyed Dany, who was fast asleep beside them, her hand over Jon’s heart and her other squashed somewhere between them, probably touching her tummy because she always did that now when she slept. Ghost did not want his human to cry, because it was sad for him and he did not want his human to ever be sad.

He just wanted him there and he was, so it was alright now.

Jon continued, his voice crackling, soft and tickling at his ear. He continued to pet him, heavy hand stroking down over his spine, which had curled up so he could fit his giant white fluffy body as close to his human as he could. “You’re my family too Ghost, you know that don’t you? I was so scared when we got captured and I was so scared I was going to die there…but I thought you were with me and I think you were. You saved me. You protected Dany and I knew it would be alright, even if things went the wrong way, because she would have you and you were part of me. You’re a good boy Ghost. The best boy.”

_I know._

“I love you.” And he buried his face into his thick fur ruff, still petting him, and kissed the side of his face, whispering again. “Merry Christmas Ghost.”

_Merry Christmas Jon_ , he thought, licking his face and settling his head over his heart again, so happy that his human was home with him.

Because he loved him so much.


End file.
